Method of making a composite porous metal structure



July 30, 1968 E. VALYI 3,394,445

METHOD OF MAKING A COMPOSITE POROUS METAL STRUCTURE Original Filed June 14, 1962 v INVENTOR EME/PVI VALV/ ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,394,445 METHOD OF MAKING A COMPOSITE POROUS METAL STRUCTURE Emery I. Valyi, Riverdale, N.Y., assignor to Olin Mathiason Chemical Corporation, a corporation of Virginia Application Ser. No. 398,127, Sept. 21, 1964, now Patent No. 3,230,618, dated Jan. 25, 1966, which is a division of application Ser. No. 202,612, June 14, 1962, now Patent No. 3,201,858, dated Aug. 24, 1965, which is in turn a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 732,663, filed May 2, 1958. Divided and this application Mar. 11, 1965, Ser. No. 455,023

1 Claim. (Cl. 29-157) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure teaches a method of making a composite porous metal structure characterized by longitudinally fluting a sheet metal tubular structure to provide a longitudinally extending embossment extending towards the interior of the tubular structure and superimposing a discontinuous sintered porous metal member on the inner Wall of the tubular structure, and metall-urgically bonding the porous metal member to at least a portion of the inner wall, with the porous member disposed to extend circumferentially on the inner wall with the longitudinal edges of the porous member extending towards and in spaced relationship with said longitudinal fluting.

This application is a division of copending application Ser. No. 398,127, filed Sept. 21, 1964, now US. Patent 3,230,618, which in turn is a division of copending application Ser. No. 202,612, filed June 14, 1962, now US. Patent 3,201,858. The latter application is in turn a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 732,663, filed May 2, 1958, now US. Patent 3,049,795, which in turn is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 586,259, filed May 21, 1956, now abandoned.

As brought out in the aforesaid co-pending applications, the subject matter thereof was directed to novel features wherein a permeable body formed of powdered metal is joined to a supporting metal structure so as to become integral therewith in all areas exectp where they are formed between the permeable and impervious portions of the structure.

The resultant porous fabrication may be utilized advantageously in various applications. For example, it may be employed in the subsequent manufacture of gas burners that are intended to provide evenly distributed heat over large surfaces. In such application a combustible gas is distributed by the fluid channels to different portions of the permeable body through which it flows to emanate on the combustion side thereof substantially uniformly over most of the surface of that body at a subs antially uniform rate, thus producing a flame blanket. The resultant porous fabrication may also be utilized advantageously in the construction of evaporative coolers whereby an eflicient cooling surface is obtained by using the porous metal body as a means through which to distribute over a large area the liquid which is to evaporate for the purposes of transpiration cooling. In a further application, the porous fabrication may be utilized in the construction of filters wherein the porous metal body provides a controlled porosity and permeability so as to enable a liquid carrier to filter through the porous metal body while leaving filtrate on the other side thereof. As will be recognized, one of the most important limitations restricting the use of porous fabrications resides in the fact that it is very difficult and costly to provide conduits which conduct fluids efficiently to the appropriate faces 3,394,445 Patented July 30, 1968 ice or portions of the porous metal bodies, and therefrom to be distributed into and through such porous metal bodies for the purposes of combustion, evaporation, filtration, or other purposes. Another limitation of porous metal bodies restricting their use in components designed to transfer heat from one medium to another derives from the fact that the heat conduction of such porous bodies is less than that of solid metal bodies and that it is difflcut and costly to effect eflicient heat transfer to the porous bodies and through them. While the techniques and methods of producing pervious or porous bodies from powder metal have been extensively discussed in the literature such as for example in Powder Metallurgy by Dr. Paul Schwarzkopf (the MacMillan Company, New York, 1947) and Powder Metallurgy edited by John Wulff (the American Society for Metals, Cleveland, 1942), no economical and eflicient method has been found thus far to overcome the limitations above referred to prior to the invention described in the aforesaid co'pending applications; the basic concept of the contribution therein comprises the forming of an integral structure of two or more metal layers of differing characteristics, of which at least one layer is porous and pervious to fluids, such as gases or liquids, and the other impervious and solid, these layers being secured together, preferably through a sintering operation, although brazing and other means may also be employed, so as to enable the formation of fluid channels in predetermined portions between the confronting faces of various layers comprising the integrated porous structure.

In accordance with the di-sclosue of the aforesaid copending applications, the porous fabrication is formed from a supporting sheet metal member which may have all or a portion thereof in the form of a flat, relatively thin plate, sheet, or strip. A pattern of weld-inhibiting material is applied to this member in a design corresponding to that desired for the fluid conducting channels which are to be provided in the ultimate structure. Following the application of the weld-inhibiting material, a substantial layer of powdered metal aggregate is deposited upon the plate thus treated. Subsequent thereto this composite structure may be subjected to pressure to compact the powdered metal and to press it firmly against the solid plate. The compacted assembly is then exposed to a suitable sintering temperature under conditions preventing undesired reactions, such as oxidation of the metal. This sintering operation accomplishes the sintering of the powdered metal particles to each other together With the metallurgical bonding, Welding, of the sintered metal aggregate to the solid member.

In an alternate method disclosed in the foregoing copending application, the powder metal layer may be separately formed by known powder metallurgy techniques. In this method the solid sheet metal member may be first prepared by applying a pattern of weld-inhibiting material to the portions thereof at which the fluid channels are to be formed, and applying to one side of the porous metal layer a suitable thin layer of soldering or brazing metal. The porous metal layer is then superimposed upon the solid plate os as to sandwich the weldinhibiting material between them, and the composite subjected to a thermal treatment to accomplish the brazing or soldering of the porous metal layer to the sheet metal member in all adjacent areas thereof except in those portions separated by the weld-inhibiting material.

The resultant composite structure may now be adapted for the conducting of fluids by deforming or flexing those portions of the sheet metal member, which are disposed opposite the weld-inhibiting material, away from the porous metal layer. This can be accomplished for example by introducing a fluid under pressure into the ununited portions of the composite structure formed between the porous layer and a sheet metal member, or mechanically, by insertion of suitable mandrels into these areas. This deformation of the sheet-metal member away from the porous metal layer will form fluid channels defined on one side by an impervious metal wall portion and on the other side by the porous metal.

As will be understood, various combinations of materials may be utilized in forming the integrated composite structure; and accordingly the solid sheet metal member and the porous layer or body may be of the same metal or alloy, or the porous structure and the solid member, of the integrated structure, may be comprised of different compositions. For example, both the porous metal layer and a solid sheet metal member may be formed of the same stainless steels, coppers, brass, carbon steels, aluminum or various combinations thereof. As will be understood the ultimate use of the resultant integrated structure determines the specific combination of alloys to be employed.

Accordingly, among the objects of this invention is to provide means for fabricating novel porous metal structures adapted to distribute a fluid and heat in flow therethrough.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel method for making porous metal structures adapted to distribute a fluid and heat in flow therethrough.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become more apparent from the following drawings and description in which:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional View of a composite porous metal structure illustrating an embodiment similar to the present invention; and

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view illustrating one embodiment of the present invention.

In regard to production of the porous body, it may be obtained by the so-called gravity sintering method which comprises a process wherein graded metal powder, frequently spherical metal powder, is poured by gravity into an appropriately shaped confined space, and usually vibrated to cause it to compact uniformly. As is obvious the choice of particle size of the metal powder will largely determine the amount of porosity, i.e. void space. The metal powder or aggregate so packed is then sintered in accordance with well-known powder metallurgy practices, producing a porous metal body Whose bulk density, or apparent density, is but a fraction of the density of the metal or alloy from which the powder particles are obtained. Generally the conditions of vibration and conditions of sintering are chosen to result in an apparent density of approximately 25% to 75% of the solid density of the corresponding alloys. In another procedure for the production of such porous metal bodies the process may comprise blending intimately a graded metal powder with a combustible substance, such as for example wood flour or other organic particulate material, or a soluble material whose melting point exceeds the sintering temperature of the metal powder. After the formulation of this dry blend, the mixture of metal powder and combustible or soluble substance is then compacted under pressure, such as by rolling resulting in a body that has no voids and is reasonably firm, sufficient for handling. This body is then sintered in accordance with well-known powder metallurgy practices to produce a cohesive structure in which the metal particles are sintered together at their respective points of contact and the combustible or soluble material remains unbonded to the metal particles forming discrete islands within the metal body. Upon completion of the sintering operation and if the non-metallic component is combustible, then the resultant body will in fact contain void spaces everywhere previously occupied by the combustible material since the latter will have burned away in the course of sintering. In the case utilizing a soluble material whose melting point is higher than the sintering temperatures of the metal, the soluble material will remain intact 41- after the final stages of sintering and can be subsequently removed by leaching and dissolving with a liquid, resulting in a network of interconnected pores.

In the modification of the foregoing it is noted the above described dry blend of metal powder and combustible or soluble substance may be replaced, respectively, by a paste or slurry obtained by suspending the admixed powder metal and combustible or soluble particles in a suitable liquid vehicle, as for example water or alcohol; or in applications where the combustible substance is mostly organic, by choosing a combustible substance that is a viscous liquid instead of being particulate such as for example a liquid phenolic resin. Alternately the mixture of metal powder and void of pore forming substance and vehicle, of void or pore forming substance alone, may be prepared into a paste which may be brought into the desired shape by pressing or extrusion.

A further method of producing the sintered porous metal bodies comprises melting a metal or alloy and casting it into the interstices of a porous aggregate of a particulate soluble material whose melting point exceeds that of the metal. Upon solidification of the metal, a component is produced which contains the network of the soluble material interspersed Within the solid metal which soluble material is thereupon removed by leaching or dissolving, leaving behind it interstices that interconnect and form a porous network within the resultant metal body. Soluble substances contemplated for these purposes, be it for blending with solid metal powder or for the above casting process, comprise sodium chloride in conjunction with aluminum and aluminum alloys, aluminum fluoride in conjunction with copper alloys, and calcium oxide in conjunction with alloys having melting points higher than copper alloys. As will be understood other substances, particularly inorganic salts, are readily available and known to the art for such purpose as for example various phosphates, such as tri-sodium phosphate.

A still further method of producing a porous metal body comprises weaving or knitting metal wire into a mesh arranged in a plurality of layers. According to this process, a control of porosity is obtained by appropriate choice of wire diameters and openings arranged between adjoining wires as well as the juxtapositioning of superimposed layers of the woven or knit mesh.

Although a specific mass of sinterable metal has been described, it is pointed out that other formulations of sinterable materials may also be used, as for example those metal oxides, carbides and nitrides, or mixtures thereof, containing if necessary pore or interstice forming materials discussed above. The unification of various components of this embodiment may be accomplished by sintering at temperatures, sufficient to sinter the particulate substance within itself and to the unernbossed portions of the sheet metal member, in other words in all regions in which the two bodies are in contact.

Various substances are known to be effective in preventing adhesion of one metal body to another, even under severe pressure, as in rolling, at elevated temperature, as in the course of soaking prior to rolling, or diffusionannealing etc. In fact, many substances present in metal as accidental impurities, as for example manganese sulphide in steel, operate to produce seams and other discontinuities in rolled products. Among these substances are graphite, applied for example in the form of colloidal suspensions, boron nitride, talcum, zinc oxide, titania, and many others, each within certain limits of applicability that are not relevant here. In fact, it has been noted that on occasion during roll-welding of two superimposed sheets interference with the integration occurs even by the mere presence of an accidental oil smudge on the surfaces of the sheets. For purposes of the present invention, the separastand exposure to high pressures or be capable of extending tion or weld-inhibiting materials employed need not withunder pressure which normally are requisites of step-weld resist used in pressure welding. Instead, the weld-inhibiting material employed as the spacer or supporting substance herein need only have reasonable mechanical strength to function as a spacer or support before the superimposed particulate material acquires strength of its own as the sintering operation progresses. The weld-inhibiting material employed as a spacer or supporting substance should preferably be capable of being applied at room temperature as a powder or by spraying, painting, extrusion, etc.; if needed, harden with the least time delay, and remain in place through the better part of the subsequent operations which usually comprise the application of a loose particulate metal layer of transporting the composite preparatory to a sintering operation and of sintering. Moreover, this spacer or supporting substance must be capable of removal following the sintering operation even if the channel network is extremely complex and tortuous.

Preferably the spacer or supporting substances contemplated herein are liquid soluble and have a melting point higher than the sintering temperature of the particulate metal layer, or at least higher than the temperature at which that layer commences to acquire reasonable mechanical strength in the course of sintering. Such soluble substances are for example sodium chloride, which melts at 801 C., a temperature somewhat below the customary sintering temperature of copper; and it may be used in connection with copper aggregate because the latter will acquire adequate strength during sintering before the sodium chloride begins to melt. Other such soluble substances are sodium aluminate (melting at 1650 C.), potassium sulphate (melting at 1076 C.), sodium metasilicate (melting at 1088 C.), aluminum chloride (melting at 1040 C.), and others. The choice of such soluble spacer or supporting substances will of course also depend on possible solid phase reactions with the metal surrounding them, at the temperatures of sintering. For example, while one of the most effective weld-inhibiting materials adapted for use as the spacer or supporting substance in connection with copper and aluminum alloys is graphite or carbon, austenitic stainless steel would be harmed by that spacer substance through carburizing.

In this respect it is pointed out that also contemplated within this invention is the utilization of a specific form of a carbon as a weldinhibiting material in the fabrication of these composite structures. The particular form of carbon contemplated is that obtained in situ, from organic substances, by pyrolysis. As is known, progressive elevated temperature exposure of a variety of organic substances in inert or reducing atmospheres results in progressive thermal degradation of the organic material and ultimately in pyrolysis similar to coking. The residual carbonaceous matter is strong and cohesive as well as stable, except under oxidizing conditions at elevated temperatures. The resultant weld-inhibiting material, originally introduced as an organic substance may thus maintain reasonable mechanical strength and its functional integrity not only at room temperature but also throughout the process of heating during the sintering operation, while the powder metal acquires appreciable strength and ability to support itself over a preformed channel forming the groove of the desired composite structure. However, the organic material applied to the solid metal surface or within the preformed channel of a solid metal member, may be used as a weld-inhibiting material only if the carbonaceous residue remaining after the sintering operation is removable. This in turn depends upon the particular metal aggregate applied above it which must be pervious and porous enough to permit the ambient atmosphere to react freely with the contents of the channels. In such a case, the pyrolized organic substance will break down further and oxidize without residue, if the sintering furnace silica sand and a phenolic varnish of the resol type. The Weld-inhibiting materials so formed can be hardened at room temperature and then upon exposure to increasing temperatures, will progressively harden and cure as is naturally expected for a phenolic resin, and thereafter progress through several stages of heat degradation while heated to still higher temperatures in an inert atmosphere. In a specific application in which spherical copper particles were metallurgically bonded to a copper sheet, during the course of the sintering operation the sand particles remained bonded together due to the carbonaceous residue of the phenolic resin. ,Upon removal of the sintered composite from the furnace and while still at an elevated temperature approaching that of the furnace, but now exposed to ambient air, the carbon oxidizing almost instantaneously leaving the sand free flowing and devoid of any bond.

Oxidation of the pyrolyzed residue may be accomplished usually by mere exposure to an atmosphere containing suflicient oxygen to burn the carbon, but not enough to oxidize the metal harmfully. In the case of copper, sintering may be followed by air exposure at room temperature, as above described; in the case of stainless steels, if brightness is to be preserved, cooling after sintering may take place in a protective atmosphere which may have just enough oxygen to react with the carbon. A wide variety of such weld-inhibiting spacer and supporting substances are readily available and known to the art; and in principle such formulations usually consist of free flowing comparatively inert granular materials, such as silica sand, bonded with phenol formaldehyde, ureaformaldehyde, polystyrene, polyethylene, furfural formaldehyde, coal, tar, etc., or such organic materials alone and others, for example, paper, adhesive tape, etc., in the event that only thin film need to be applied prior to sintering.

As will be understood, the selection of materials from which the porous and solid components are made to comprise the structures described herein and in the cO-pending application, is based on considerations within the skill of persons acquainted with mechanical, physical and chemical properties of materials. While the structures described herein have been identified as being metallic on numerous occasions, it is pointed out that all or parts of these structures may be made of non-metallic materials, as called for by their intended use. Thus, the porous layer may incorporate catalysts, as pointed out in the co-pending application, which catalysts may be non-metallic. The porous layer may also consist in part or entirely of glasses, carbides, nitrides, oxides, or borides, for example in instances calling for heat resistance, corrosion resistance or insulating properties not available in metals and alloys. The porous layer may also consist of synthetic polymeric substances, for similar reasons, as for example sintered porous fluoro-carbon resins, silicone resins, and others. The solid component is usually made of metal strip or plate which may be coated With non-metallic materials of the kind referred to. In instances not calling for high strength the solid component may also be made of synthetic resins made into strip, sheet or plate stock.

Several of the embodiments described herein may be made advantageously of non-metallic components. Thus, a component intended to distribute highly corrosive inorganic acid vapors may be made of fluorocarbon resins; another intended to serve as diffuser of combustible gas also acting as a radiant burner may be made in part of silicone carbide. Other examples are obvious to those skilled in the art of constructing components to be used in environments of high temperature and corrosive attack.

It will be understood that the porous layer referred to herein may be produced in still additional ways either in situ, upon the surface of a solid component or separately, to be joined thereto. Thus, the porous component may be produced by mechanical perforation of a solid metallic sheet, however, such a method would generally be expensive and cumbersome. The porous layer may also be produced by spraying of metal by techniques well known to those skilled in the metal working art and carried out either with a wire gun or a powder gun, whereby, through appropriate and well-known adjustment of the spray gun, the spraying process may be directed so as to produce a porous sprayed deposit. A porous sprayed deposit may also be produced with a powder gun by spraying along with the material intended to form the porous layer and intimately intermingled with it an evanescent solid which will be deposited along with the rest of the sprayed material and which may then be removed from the porous composite by leaching as described in previous examples. However, this procedure of producing the porous layer by spraying is also cumbersome and expensive in most instances, compared to the other means described herein and in the co-pending applications.

As indicated above, the composite structures of this invention are adapted for many applications and particularly for use as heat exchanges. As is well known, tubular components used in heat exchangers were heretofore usually provided with fins, corrugations and other extensions of their surface so as to present an economic maximum extended surface area for a given Weight of heat exchanger structure. However, such heat exchanger structures can be provided with greatly increased heat transfer surfaces by i.e. heat conductive bonding of a solid sheet metal unit to a sheet-like layer of sintered porous metal in accordance with any of the methods described heretofore. As has been discussed the sheet-like porous metal component is attached to the solid sheet metal unit by a metallic bond which will warrant good heat transfer with channels provided between the confronting faces of the components by interrupting the metallurgical bond in predetermined areas and in a predetermined pattern. These channels serve to conduct a fluid between the solid and porous layers with subsequent diffusion of flow through the porous body, thereby contacting the large surface area within the porous body, as defined by the innumerable interstices extending between the integrated particles of the porous body. For example for application in refrigerator systems, where the solid sheet metal unit is internally laminated with its laminations distended into a system of fluid passageways, the fluid contained within the solid metal component may be water and the fluid contained within the channels may be liquid refrigerant or refrigerant vapor, as would be the case when such composite structures are used as refrigeration condensers or evaporators.

FIGURE 1 illustrates schematically a heat transfer structure made in accordance with the above wherein the solid component is a sheet metal tubular structure 147 provided with internal fluid passageways 148 for the cireulation of a first fluid with structure 147 disposed within a hollow cylindrical porous metal envelope 149 metallically bonded to the crest of the passageways 148 to be disposed on the external surface of tubular structure 147. The fluid channels 150 disposed between the porous envelope 149 and the tubular structure 147 provide means to conduct a second fluid through the composite structure. In addition, a second sintered porous metal body 151 of hollow cylindrical configuration is inserted Within the tubular structure 147 and metallically bonded to the crest of passageways 148 extending toward the interior of tubular structure 147. In this manner the fluid channels defined between the inner sintered porous cylinder 151 and tubular structure 147 provide means for conducting a third fluid within the composite structure. As will be obvious, any other and more complicated geometric arrangements of porous and solid components may be readily formed, in all events utilizing means providing a fluid flow penetrating and flowing through the porous components while in contact with a very large heat transfer area resulting in an effective heat exchange device.

In applications, as in the immediately preceding embodiment, having a sintered porous metal component bonded to the internal wall of a tubular structure, care must be taken to obtain a metallic bond between the porous components since processing difliculties may occur as a result of high shrinkage of the porous metal component in the course of sintering. This problem may be appreciated by visualizing the solid and the porous components as two concentric rings, the inner of the two shrinking and the outer of the two expanding during sintering. Under these circumstances, the difficulties may be overcome by providing the solid metal tubular component 153 with at least one flute 154 as illustrated in FIGURE 2. In this manner, in the course of the sintering operation, the porous metal component 155 will commence to be bonded as by fusing or diflusion bonding to the solid component, thus establishing a surface bond at the interface between the two components. At the same time the porous metal component will also shrink as is normal during the sintering operation. However, the formation of the metallurgical bond at the interface is greatly facilitated by the flute 154 which will allow the solid metal component to move inward in the direction of the arrows while shrinkage of the porous metal component progresses thereby diminishing the force otherwise counteracting the development of the desired metal bond.

Among the many applications to which the invention lends itself are novel gas burners in which combustible gases or partly or entirely vaporized combustible liquids are caused to flow through the fluid channels formed between the solid and the porous components of the composite structure. As indicated above, such combustible fluids conducted in this manner will permeate the porous component and, diffusing therethrough, distribute themselves uniformly on the external face thereof. Such fluids may be ignited at the time they emerge at the external face of the porous component, adapting the entire unit for use as a gas burner with characteristics of very uniform distribution of the flame. In addition, with appropriate choice of conditions during combustion, and appropriate adjustment of pressures, fuels and materials, it is possible to adapt the structure as a source of radiant heat, provided the structure is allowed to reach a temperature at which it is capable of radiating heat at an appreciable rate.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, materials and details, various modifications and changes, within the scope of this invention, will be apparent to one skilled in the art and are contemplated to the embraced within the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of making a sheet-like porous metal structure comprising longitudinally fluting a sheet metal tubular structure to provide a longitudinally extending embossment forming a bulge extending toward the interior of said structure, superimposing a discontinuous sintered porous metal member on the inner wall of said structure with said member bring disposed to extend circumferentially on said wall with the longitudinal edges of said member extending towards and in spaced relationship to said longitudinal fluting, and metallurgically bonding said member to at least a portion of said inner Wall.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,454,982 ll/ 1948 Wallace.

2,845,346 7/1958 Scanlon et al. 208 2,946,681 7/ 1960 Probst et al.

3,201,858 8/1965 Valyi 29-1573 JOHN F. CAMPBELL, Primary Examiner.

PAUL M. COHEN, Assistant Examiner. 

